BMW Recalls 318,000 Vehicles, Says Overheated Starter Could Cause Engine Fire

BMW is expanding a previously reported engine-starter issue into a large recall covering 318,495 vehicles in North America, citing overheating that could lead to an engine-compartment fire. The recall, announced July 24 on the NHTSA X account, extends an earlier Jan. 30 NHTSA recall affecting 87,394 vehicles with faulty engine starters. According to the agency, the starters have a unique configuration that may experience unexpected wear, potentially causing vehicles to fail to start in less severe cases, or create a thermal event or fire under more extreme conditions. The affected population includes 2023–2024 Toyota Supra coupes (270) and multiple BMW models across 2021–2025 model years, including 210,748 units of X3. The starters were manufactured by Valeo of Cergy, France, and BMW said it has not received reports of accidents or injuries. Remedies will replace starters with a different design at no cost, through licensed BMW or Toyota dealerships.